Poor Flower, Poor Heart
by Wilona Riva
Summary: There on the welcome mat, was a red envelope. Danny picked it up, and examined it more closely. It was addressed to D. Phantom.
1. Chapter 1

Poor Flower, Poor Heart

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: Don't own the poem or the cartoon. The poem is called "A Secret" by Eve Merriam. The poem on the card is mine.

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_**Author's Note:** Added a small teaser to the end to keep you guessing who sent the valentine to Danny. Originally posted under my old pen name, Garnet Sky._

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**Somebody rang the bell**

"Danny!" his mother's voice called from the depths of the basement. "Can you get that?"

"Yeah, Mom!" Danny shouted back, running down stairs. "I wonder who could be calling at this hour?" He glanced at the clock. 11:59 am. Saturday.

**You run and look and find**

Danny swung open the door to find...nothing.

"Ghost?" he asked, scratching his head. "Huh? Nothing out here. Hello, what is this?"

**A Valentine**

There on the welcome mat, was a red envelope. Danny picked it up, and examined it more closely. It was addressed to D. Phantom. His breath came out ragged.

"What the hell?" he questioned, opening it up.

**That isn't signed.**

The card had a little mouse holding up a heart on the outside. The inside had a small cursive inscription that read:

_Beautiful are the eyes that shine_

_Like emerald pools of light_

_May you be forever mine_

_This Valentine Eve night._

"Now that's unusual," Danny said, flipping the card over. "No name anywhere on the card. I wonder who sent it."

**Now who could it be?**

"Who was it?" his mother asked, when he closed the door.

"Jeez, Mom, give me a heart attack why don't you?" he hissed, turning around. He had been so busy reading the letter that he hadn't heard her come up behind him.

"Well?"

"A Valentine's Day card for Phantom," he said, handing it over.

**Oh,**

**Even though I know-**

**I won't tell.**

Maddie read the little verse and then the inscription on the envelope. She giggle slightly. "This is beautiful, Danny, but I think you need an eye exam. See right here..."

"Yes," he said.

"Read what it says."

"To D. Fenton. Wait a sec. I was sure it had Phantom's name on it.."

**(Because, you see,**

**It was me.)**

"Any idea who it is from?" Maddie asked.

"A violet-eyed witch," he said, blue eyes twinkling mischievously. "Or may be one with emerald eyes."

Maddie laughed and ruffled her son's messy raven hair. "Or possibly both of them," she teased.

Danny grinned. "May be so."


	2. Chapter 2

Poor Flower, Poor Heart

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: Don't own the poem or the cartoon. The poem for this chapter is called "_**Vestments Are the Words; the Body, Feeling**_" by William Croft.

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_**V**__**estments are the words; the body, feeling;  
As love is clothed in words to fit the fashion,**_

"Still haven't figured it out, Mr. Fenton?" his English teacher asked, amusement flavoring his voice. "It has been more than two years, you know."

"I'm aware of that," Danny told him acidly. "I got _both_ Sam and Valerie carnations that year."

"Gave," Mr. Lancer corrected him. "They were interesting color combinations, I will admit." He distinctly remembered the amusement on the girls' faces when the student council representative popped up at his door with two flowers for each girl during the annual Casper High Valentine's Day Sweetheart Carnation Drive.

_**Letting art romanticize its passion -  
Embellishing, soliciting, revealing.**_

"Striped and yellow for Valerie," Danny admitted, "and purple and white for Sam."

"Regret, disappointment, apologetic and pure love," Mr. Lancer whispered to the boy in front of him. "Ah, those are the days of youth. So what will you do this year, Mr. Fenton, to find the lucky girl who stole your heart?"

"I've already made arrangements," Danny said, standing up. "May I be excused from detention, Mr. Lancer? I'll make it up to you by staying an extra hour on Friday."

Mr. Lancer examined the half-grown youth in front of him, then nodded. His green eyes twinkled slightly, as if he knew a secret that had yet to be shared.

_**Nor can a truth be true without concealing  
The thousand other truths that need attention,  
Insisting on at least a passing mention,  
Not willing to let go without appealing.**_

The waves flowed around her, warming the chill of her blood. "You came," she stated, no emotion in her voice.

"I'm sorry it took me so late to listen to the truth of my heart," he said, landing lightly behind her.

"Three years, Danny," she said, pulling the hood of her cloak tightly around her, so he wouldn't see the tears forming in her apple-green eyes.

_**Each love, therefore, shows more by showing less,  
'Neath cloth cut well to hint at subtleties,  
Setting off the swaths of naked skin.**_

"But better late than never," he whispered, pulling her tightly into his arms. He spun her around, the hood of her cloak falling back, revealing a sweetheart-shaped face framed by sapphire flames.

"Phantom," she began, silenced by his lips.

_**Do, then, pay due diligence to dress,  
As what one says discovers what one sees,  
Yielding to and shaping what's within.**_

"How did you do it?" he asked, when they broke apart so he could get some air.

"That's my secret," she murmured, pulling his lips to hers once more.


End file.
